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LONG-LOST 



0HRONI0LES OF SOLOMON. 



-AND- 



sPOEMS,^ 



-BY- 



JOHN GOODMAN. 



Dedicated to Ann Goodman, My Wife. 



CLEVELAND. O. 

J. B. SAVAGE, PRINTER, PKANKrOET STREET. 

1884. 



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LONG-LOST 



0HRONI0LBS OF SOLOMON 



-AND- 



^P 



R 




-BY 



JOHN GOODMAN. 



Dedicated to Ann Goodman, My Wife, 



CLEVELAND, O. 

.r. B SAVAGE, PRINTER, FRAKKPORT STREET. 

1884. 



Ml L^ 



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INDEX. 



Chronicles op Solomon, ------ 4 

Poems — England, - - - - - - - 38 

I am Reading Shakspeare, ----- 41 

An Angel's Visit, - - - - - - 45 

The Beautiful Spring, - - - - ' - 47 

Poverty, - - -. - - - - 48 

The Bulls and the Bears' Black Monday, - - - 49 

To the Lovely Poet of Macon, - - - - - 50 

Sultan of Bagdad's Daughter, - - - - 53 



Oltiiomclps cf tl|E fflimes cf !^clcmcn. 



There have lately been discovered, since the English were in 
possession of Egypt, in one of the ancient tombs, chronicles of 
the times of Solomon, king of Israel. They were bnried by a 
rich Israelite named Eleaser, m the tomb he had built for him- 
self and family, the entrance to which was fifty feet above the 
water mark of the Nile, and was only found out by an intrepid 
soldier, who, peering over the rock above, lost his balance, when 
he caught upon a projection, somewhat larger and about the 
length of a door knob of modern times. His weight pressed 
it down, and a cleft apj^eared in the rock into which when^ 
propped open by his large pistol, he easily passed his body. 
He immediately struck a light and lit his small wax candle; he 
saw steps and descended until he came to an outer chamber. 
As high as he could reach he saw a knob similar to the outer 
one. He weighed two hundred and four pounds, just sufficient 
to bring it down. Once more he descended with his light, and 
below him he saw a wheel; he took hold of it, and moved it 
round till a small projecting knob was immediately opposite a, 
small indentation a little larger than the button. He pressed it 
into the indent and two folding doors flew open, and to his as- 
tonished view was the tomb of the old Israelite, two daughters 
and one son, with a vacant tomb for another body, who 
evidently, after he had fulfilled the wishes of his parent, had by 
some mischance been kept from burial in his fatlier's tomb. On 
the breast of the embalmed old man, was a roll of papyrus, and 
the soldier, who was the youngest son of the Marquis of L., and 
had enlisted in the romantic Egyptian expedition, was a Greek,, 
Latin and Sanscrit scholar, and was determined the contents of 



CHRONICLES OF FO: OMON. 



the roll of papyrus should be translated. He saw jewels of great 
value, but only brought away a wonderful penholder, of gold, a 
foot long, with the twelve tribes of Israel elaborately chased and 
elevated on it; in the top was a sapphire, and inside, when the 
head was screwed off, were various pens from the quills of a 
goose. He, with great care, rolled up the papyrus in his hand- 
kerchief, and the pen in a piece of linen which he found on a 
stool near the tomb, and making a rope of the remainder by 
twisting, he closed the doors after him, and making the linen 
rope fast to the outside projection, let himself down to the bank 
of the Nile. Then, tying his knife on a thick stick, he cut the 
rope a few feet above his head. The door, when liberated from 
his weight, had sprung back to its place. Reaching the camp, 
he sought out Bartholomew, a Jew, a fine Hebrew scholar. 
Binding him to secrecy, and promising him a good reward, 
after several evenings he elucidated the title page: "Chronicles 
of the Times of Solomon, the Wise King of Israel, written by 
myself, Eleazer, son of Samuel." After the Jew found a good 
key to the very ancient Hebrew, he translated it as follows, (part 
of which is completed; and as they have returned to England, 
the remainder will be transmitted to the writer, who is on terms 
of great intimacy and friendship with the son of the Marquis of 
L.): 



THE FIRST CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

King Solomon, who was a man of wonderful energy and 
industry, sallied out of his palace with poor vestments on 
and common sandals, his hair uncombed and disheveled. It 
was late at night, for in the day time it was very 
warm in summer, and dusty in Jerusalem; and especially dusty 
at that time on account of the immense quantity of material 
being hauled for the temple he was building. Having gone a 
quarter of a mile on the street leading to the Mesopotamia gate, 
Salomon saw a sandal-maker hard at work, singing even at that 
late hour. Solomon went in and inquired the price of making 



CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 7 

sandals, also as to his prospects in life, and he elicited that by 
hard labor from day to day, incessantly, that he could earn just 
enough to live on, and lay by so little that he expected it would 
be years before he co^^ld save enough to marry the maiden he 
loved, old Levi's daughter. The sandal-maker's name was Ben- 
jamin. Solomon inquired where Levi dwelt, and deposited a 
small piece of folded parchment in a crevice in the wall, with 
strict injunction to let no one see it except old Levi; and pay- 
ing him for two pairs of fine finished sandals in advance, Solo- 
mon wished the poor man good night and went to the store of 
old Levi, a shrunken, long-nosed, high-browed, low-statured 
Israelite, about seventy years of age. He was poring over his 
accounts for the day, and had many pieces of slate, many tal- 
lies, two sticks fitting into each other, full of notches, and rolls 
of parchment, and some bags of gold he evidently had counted 
and tallied. Solomon knocked at the door, and the Israelite 
peered cautiously through the shutters 9,nd asked what was 
wanted. Levi was a dyer. Solomon told him he wanted a 
hundred sets of fine dyed sandal latchets, and he would pay him 
the gold for them. Levi rang a small bell, and from an inner 
apartment Rebecca, the daughter of old Levi, appeared. She 
knew her father wanted her to watch the new customer and 
to be a protection to himself; then he unchained the door and 
let in Solomon; then he chained it again. " What price do you 
wish to pay?" ''I am no haggler," said Solomon, "take my 
order, make me out a correct account, and receive your gold. 
Read it over that your daughter may certify that it is correct." 
The old man read it and looked at Rebecca. She said, '' Father, 
for the gold you can do it so much less." He looked daggers at 
his child, altered the figures, and said that is very cheap. '' To 
whom shall I send the latchets?" "To Benjamin, the sandal- 
maker; and look at the pai-chment stuck in a crevice in his wall. 
Then you will be pleased to give him your daughter, Rebecca, 
for his wife." Solomon departed. 

The old Israelite next day wanted to take inferior goods to 
Benjamin but his good daughter, Rebecca, insisted that he should 
fill the order to the letter; and the old Israelite's curiositv beins: 



8 CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON". 

aroused, he went with his Midian slave and took the sandal 
trimmings to Benjamin, Old Levi spake unusually kind to 
him, and seeing the parchment in the crevice, where it had re- 
mained unread, he uttered an exclamation of surprise. The 
large shop and residence next to old Levi's was deeded to Ben- 
jamin, and a bag of gold he could get by calling on Copti, the 
eunuch of the black wife of Solomon the King. 

Old Levi became obsequious, and said he would be proud of 
Benjamin for- a son. '' You and I had better wait until we prove 
the deed and get the gold," said Benjamin. " I will hence to a 
scribe," said old Levi, "' and you, Benjamin, go to Copti, tlie 
eunuch, at the king's palace." They both went their separate 
ways, and Copti gave Benjamin the^old and took his acknowl- 
edged receipt. And old Levi found by the s<.ribe that the deed 
was correct and the title clear. So Benjamin located next door 
to old Levi, and with a hundred trimmings, the best in Jerusa- 
lem; a house of his own, and a large bag of gold, he commenced 
business on an enlarged scale, and in three months he was mar- 
ried to Rebecca, and Solomon, clothed in a neat gai'b, claimed 
the privilege of giving the bride away; and he gave her a small 
purse with a golden S upon it. She was not to open it until 
three months had passed, and she had proved a good and faith- 
ful wife to Benjamin. 

At the end of that time poor old Levi was struck with paral- 
ysis as he saw the diamonds, rubies, opals and carbuncles the 
purse contained. The poor old man died and the daughter and 
Benjamin sold off the old Israelite's property and inherited all 
his estate, and it was years before they knew that King Solo- 
mon had been their benefactor. Thus endeth the first chronicle 
of Solomon. 



SECOND CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

On the next night Solomon, dressed in better style — as a 
middle-class man — took his way to the outskirts of the city by 
the dim light of the hanging oil lamps at the corner of a narrow 



CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 9 

intersecting street. Solomon was accosted by a young Israelite 
of ravishing beauty. Her eye was like the mild gazelle's, yet 
bright as the evening star ; her nose Egyptian, the curve so 
slight that it added to the beauty of an oval face so perfectly 
moulded that Astarte could not have had a face more lovely; 
her teeth regular and white; her brow shone, and shewed intelli- 
2:ence was seated there. She was rather slender, but below the 
middle height of woman, while jet itself, from Spain, would not 
shine, when polished, as did her hair. "For Jehovah's sake, 
for my mother's, and for mine, come to my poor home and abide 
with me, for my mother is dying of want, and I have nothing to 
sell but my person to obtain for her a little bread and milk to 
keep her from death." 

Solomon went to her hjljitation, her mother was reclining on 
a couch of boards, thin, pale, and attenuated nearly to a shadow. 
■" Here is money," said Solomon, "get bread, wine, and decoc- 
tion of the bark of the cherry-tree, and bring them quickly."' 
She did, and Solomon assisted her to feed her mother, who re- 
vived by the aid of the bread, wine and decoction. " Now, tell 
me what brought you to this misery?" said Solomon. "When 
I was sixteen years of age," said Euth, "1 worked for Mordecai, 
the great vestment-maker, and earned a little regularly, to keep 
and clothe myself and mother. Young. Mordecai took me one 
evening into an inner room, gave me wine that was drugged, he 
took away my virtue by committing a rape upon my person, 
then left and sent a servant to take me home. I went to a doc- 
tor of the law an-d he tried to violate me also. 1 went to a 
priest and he nearly succeeded in ravishing me, but I broke 
from him, bruised and my clothing torn to shreds." "Then why 
not appeal to the king?" said Solomon. " He is the greatest 
harlot-monger in the land, and would no doubt have polluted 
me also. Poverty stings; I sold all my clothing but this gar- 
ment; all our furniture but those boards that my poor mother 
sleeps upon." Solomon had t"winged but recovered, and said: 
^' Where is your chamber; where is your bed? " She led'him to 
a small offshoot, and on the unpaved Hoor was a little straw. 
" So you to-night had no resource but to barter your person for 



10 CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 

food?" " None," said Eutli; '*but now mother has food I will 
endeavor to obtain something by labor to-morrow." " To-mor- 
row," said Solomon, "go to the postern gate of the palace and 
ask for Copti ; he will give you employment. Now, write 
down the names of the doctor of the law, of the priest, of yonng 
Mordecai, and the residences of them." She did. Solomon left 
her more gold for their need . 

In the morning she saw Copti, and was led into a large hall 
where young Mordecai, the doctor of law, and the priest were 
in the hands of the guard. Presently King Solomon came in 
and Ruth trembled, for it was her friend of the night before,, 
and she remembered what she had said about his being the 
greatest harlot-monger in the land. He bade her make the 
statement she did unto the man who befriended her last night. 
She did until she came to that expression, when she said : 
" There are some things, most gracious king, will not bear 
repetition." Solomon admired her candor and her sense, " Let 
Mordecai marry Euth, and take her and Ruth's mother to his 
home, and never let me hear of one unkind word on your part to 
mother or daughter, and array them both in fine linen," he said 
to Mordecai, 

The doctor of the law and the priest had their heads and 
beards shaved, and were registered in the army of the king for 
twenty years without appeal. 

In the afternoon Ruth was summoned by Copti, and she 
found about three hundred of the same age and older, who were 
workers on vestments for the rich employers in Jerusalem, She 
also saw her husband, young Mordecai, and his father, and 
twenty-two rich manufacturers of vestments, on the opposite 
side of the hall, A few of the laboring girls made statements 
before Solomon, who was sitting in judgment, with his black 
Egyptian wife at his left hand, Ruth stated that she had 
worked three years and had only earned so much. Others 
that they had labored ten years and were still poor. Then Sol- 
omon asked the rich manufacturers for their statements, which 
Copti had warned them to make on pain of death. Solomon 
asked them if their records were correct. Then he allowed each 



CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 11 

to retain ten per cent, as their profit, and the balance was di- 
vided among the laborers according to the time they each had 
labored. When the judgment was ended, Cleo, the black wife 
of Solomon, called Ruth, and said: '' Oh, king! let this young 
Israelite delight thine eye, and gratify thy amorousness by being 
concubine. "She is^lovely as Venus," said the Egyptian, "I shall 
enjoy the sight of her in your embrace." The negro woman 
was straight as an arrow, inclined to flesh, bosom exceedingly 
developed; her limbs bare (for she wore but one flowing gar- 
ment), were like those of the Goddess of Morning; her teeth 
were whiter than ivory; her eyes were melting with love; her 
lips were like an unstrung bow above a cherry, and the corners 
of her mouth wore an enduring smile; her face was oval; her 
nose was straight as a line; her skin smooth as a plum; her arms 
were plump and dimpled ; her finger nails were the perfection 
of beauty. She was amorous, lecherous, beastly so; and she 
wished to see her lover, Solomon the King, enjoy the beautiful 
Israelite. Solomon said: ''She is sacred, and I will not violate 
her home." So Ruth, the beautiful, was dismissed. Thus end- 
eth the second chronicle of Solomon. 



THIRD CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

Carrying a willow basket, Solomon sought the street where 
the harlots generally resided. He entered many homes, gave 
them small sums to tell him their previous history. One Leah 
was a tall magnificent woman. Sheba's queen was a Scythian 
beside her. She was from Samaria ; a rich vineyard owner had 
tempted her with wine, and effected her fall by destroying her 
virginity. After a lapse of a few moons he deserted her for 
some new victim, and she in shame came to the chief city, Jeru- 
salem . She had been a harlot for three years, and would gladly 
escape, Imt knew not how. Solomon saw another, small in stat- 
ure, bi^k eyes, black hair in masses; she was so voluptuous that 
she told Solomon she would have variety, it was life to her. 



12 CHROISriCLES OF SOLOxVIO]S'. 

*' But it will surely kill," said Solomon. " I will take a short, 
merry life,'' she answered. Solomon entered a third house, and 
a poor captive from a northern nation sat with her head upon 
her hand. Solomon spake kindly to her and gave her gold, and 
:she related to him her history. " I came from the Tin Island* 
beyond the pillars of Hercules. I was playing on the sea- 
shore when only fourteen years of age, among the woodbines 
which grew wild, gathering violets for a chaplet for my sister's 
hair, who dwelt a mile away in the woods, w^hen a boat landed, 
and one swift of foot took me prisoner, and in a few minutes I 
was aboard their boat. An arrow from the bow of my sister's 
husband cleft the skull of my captor, and in a few minutes we 
were away at sea, and I have never seen the white coast of the 
Tin Island, and its lovely streams and valleys, from that day to 
this. Four brutes of Tyrians ravished me till we landed 
at Tyre. I escaped and walked to Damascus, but poverty forced 
me eventually to Jerusalem, and I shall never see the lovely 
home of my childhood again." 

Solomon made memorandums of all these persons. The next 
was a girl from near the Sea of Galilee; a strong, robust Israel- 
ite; Mack hair, coarse as a horse's mane: heavy eyebrows; large 
lips. She was going to caress Solomon (much as a bear would 
do), when he gave her apiece of gold and left. She was a per- 
fect animal; lustful from head to foot. 

The next house which Solomon visited was one where he 
heard an infant prattling in an inner room. The woman, about 
twenty years of age, had painted, as harlots paint; her whiting 
covered a dark skin, and it and her paint made her, vipon close 
scrutiny, look pitiful. Solomon heard her story. She was the 
daughter of Elcazer, her name was Sarah. She had been taught 
all the Hebrew, Egyptian and Tyrian lore. She had fine musi- 
cal talent, and acquired the name of the Warbler. At sixteen 
she was stately and beautiful; a youth Avith the form of Apollo, 
with eyes like the star of the morning; teeth like flattened 
pearls; lips which seemed only suitable for kissing; a voice mu- 
sical as the nightingales. " He was false, and in two years he 
seduced me. Then when his lust was gratified, and I was near 

* England. 



CHEONICLES OF SOLOilOlSr. 13 

to become a mother, he left me.'' Solomon pitied this woman 
much, and gave her gold enough to leave her calling, and furn- 
ish a small habitation for herself and child. 

At the next house Solomon heard an uproar, and going in 
perceived three young females wringing their hands; there were 
three of them, for the fourth had just hung herself. Solomon 
took the knife from his girdle, severed the silken cord, sent for 
restoratives, and saw the almost a child resuscitated; then he 
heard their history; each had been vain and seduced; the 
youngest (twelve years of age) only a month ago, by young Ja- 
cob, and he had married another, Solomon left, and the next 
day had every harlot in the city brought to the great hall. 
Then he ordered those who wished to leave the life they led to 
go to the right. Amongst them were the four young girls; the 
young mother ai)peared not, as she had left her harlotry; the 
girl from the White or Tin Islands, and the magnificent woman 
from Samaria, and a hundred more; while several hundred who 
loved their harlotry and shame-facedness, remained on the left. 
Then Solomon provided means for all who wished to leave their 
sinful life. With a recommendation from Copti, he forced the 
vintner of Samaria to marry the one he had seduced; the girl 
from the Tin Islands he sent home in a Syrian ship with an 
officer of his household to protect her until she landed. She 
prayed all lier life for Solomon, her redeemer; he asked as a 
favor from the king of Tyre, for the four men who had rav- 
ished her; he emasculated them, and then for seven years, with 
a brand upon their foreheads, he had them work on the high- 
ways. Then Solomon issued an edict that no harlot should 
reside or walk within one mile of the Temple, and owners 
should be imprisoned who rented any house or room to harlots, 
and pay a hundred pieces of gold into the king's treasury; and 
the watchmen of the city and officers of the law who saw any 
person from twelve years of age and upwards who visited such 
harlots' homes should take both him and the harlot, and they 
should be fined and imprisoned; and if it were proved by Copti 
that any watchman or officer of the law evaded the edict, they 
should be imprisoned, fined and dismissed from their offices. 



14 CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON". 

All harlots shonlcl be registered and examined as to their health 
by two physicians; one aged, one younger, and in a manner the 
least offensive. The young Israelites and aged debauchees who 
frequently support such places, should, when caught, be regis- 
tered in the Band of Lechery, and copies should be hung 
up outside of the great hall of justice. Thus would Jerusa- 
lem become more free from lust, and the occupation of har- 
lotry unprofitable. Thus endeth the third chronicle of Sol- 
omon. 



FOURTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

Solomon, dressed as an artizan, went out earlier than usual, 
and visited many homes, and one grand lament met his ear. 
They wondered why the king allowed those of princely wealth 
to buy up all the olives, all the dates, all the corn from Egypt, 
the honey and manna from Midian, and the cattle from Dan 
to Beersheba, and from Lebanon to the territory of the Coshites; 
and Solomon was grieved. He saw that the princes in wealth 
in Israel combined and bought up all things in general use 
among the people, and sold at an excessive profit, which being 
resold by small dealers, cost enormous prices, and the wailing 
was just and it pervaded the whole of the land. And Solomon 
changed his raiment and sought out the grandees that fattened 
and feasted on the blood of Israel, and broke down the spirit 
of the people. He inquired into their profits and they felt 
offended, saying it was not any one's matter but their own, and 
that a tithe would cover all their profits on olives, dates, corn, 
honey and on cattle. Then Solomon sent out messengers on 
fleet horses and gathered information from all the cities and 
villages in the kingdom, and he found the complaint was uni- 
versal. Then Solomon called all the grandees to the hall and 
they saw that the king was the inquirer, and they trembled. 
Then Solomon bade them bring a correct account of all the 
olives, dates, corn, honey and cattle they had purchased, and 
the price they paid for each quality. So he found out all there 



CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 15 

was in the land, and he ordered ten per cent., or a tithe, to be 
allowed as their profit, and it was sold to the people throughout 
the land, and no persons were allowed to purchase any of these 
necessaries for speculation only sufficient to resell in their own 
localities; and the hearts of the people were glad, but the nobles 
or rich men waxed wroth and plotted to kill Solomon; but the 
ring-leaders were captured and put to death, and during Solo- 
mon's reign they never added more than a tithe on their pur- 
chases. Thus endeth the fourth chronicle of Solomon. 



FIFTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

Many complaints had been made to Copti respecting the 
difficulty in convicting those guilty of theft, of rape, of sod- 
omy and murder, in consequence of the young doctors of the 
law so harrassing witnesses that they in their fright sonetimes 
contradicted in minor points their own evidence; and how many 
upright men had been wrongfully im})risoned, and had their 
characters so blackened by the declarations of these same loose- 
tongued youths, that innocent men were almost afraid they 
must be guilty. Solomon thereupon determined to attend the 
same courts and judge for himself, and so he put on the dress 
of a chief doctor of the law and entered a court. The case was 
a young low-browed Israelite, who had stolen a purse. The 
owner testified as to the amount and number of pieces, but the 
only person who saw him take the purse was a young girl of 
fifteen, young and maidenly. The young lawyer said: 

" Sarah, do you know the prisoner? " 

"No." 

" Then, what are you here to testify to?" 

"I saw him take the purse." 

" Is this the purse? " 

''Yes." 

" Will you swear this is the purse?" 

" I feel certain. It is the color and size." 



IG CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 

" Can you tell that purse from this?" (producing one about 
the same size.) 

''No." 

" Then you don't know which purse it was of these two that 
was stolen?" 

''No." 

" Where were you when, as you pretend, you saw the pris- 
oner take the purse? " 

"In my chamber. It overlooks Samuel's room, and he had 
left it a moment, when the prisoner rushed in and stole the 
purse from the stool on which it was lying." 

" How old was the person who stole the purse? " 

"About the age of this youth." 

" Don't you think he was older?" 

"No." 

" Did he have the same vestments on? " 

" No. He wore a tunic of brown." 

" Can you positively swear this is the youth?" 

"I think he is." 

" But you must not think. You must be positive. You 
are not quite sure that this youth you want to drive to prison is 
the one who stole Samuel's purse? " 

"I think he is." 

" But you are not going to swear him to prison? " 

"No." 

" That will do. You evidently don't know anything about 
it. 

Solomon took the judgment seat. All were amazed. 

"Who is that fellow who took the judgment seat?" asked 
Benjamin, the young law doctor, loud enough for Solomon to hear. 

An old doctor wished to see Solomon's credentials, and 
then bowed low. 

"Arrest Benjamin for contempt." 

Solomon was obeyed. "Let him stand by the prisoner." 

" Jacob, are you guilty? " 

"No." 

" Maiden, come near. What is your name?" 



CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 



17 



"Sarah." 

'' Wliere were you when you saw the prisoner take the 

purse ? " 

" In my chamber." 

"Do you feel certain that the prisoner is the person who 
took the purse from the stool where Samuel had left it?" 

"Yes. I cannot be mistaken. I saw him clearly, and I 
have seen him pass by Samuel's door many tmies." 

" That will do. Samuel, how came you to leave the purse 
upon the stool? " 

" I wanted to replenish my fire, and lest I might drop my 
parse as I was going, I left it for a moment on the stool. I re- 
turned in time to see Jacob turn onto the next street. I fol- 
lowed with a minister of the law, and in an hour he was a pris- 
oner, and I found a piece of my gold where he had paid it out." 

" How know you it was your piece?" 

" I accidentally dropped it in the embers of the fire yester- 
day, and before I could take it out the heat had discolored the 

edge of it." 

" Let Jacob be punished with stripes, and Benjamin be 
stripped of his robe, and go back to his teacher for seven years, 
to learn that the truth by the simplest means and evidence is 
what is needed to convict or set free one that is accused; and it 
is unwise and unjust to terrify or harrass a witness to that ex- 
tent it oftimes tends to counteract the evidence, and set free on 
society the vilest of criminals." • 

So Solomon had all the doctors of the law assembled in the 
large hall, and four prisoners brought in to be tried — a mur- 
derer, a robber, one who had violated a maiden, and one who 
had abused his neighbor. He allowed each doctor to plead for 
the accused ten minutes. Then for the accuser ten minutes, 
and so on, limiting each case to an hour. Some of the lawyers 
were fair in their questioning, and did not take undue advan- 
tage of the simplicity of a witness: others would try to intimi- 
date, to puzzle, to bewilder, and make their evidence not tally; 
others, in vehemence and declamation went on soaring, and ac- 
tiiallv'said nothing m their time allotted; others were so crafty 



18 CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 

that they tried to ensnare witnesses and make black appear 
white; a few had the uprightness to question fairly, and speak 
kindly, making endeavors to elicit the truth. These were re- 
tained as advisors, but all the rest which Solomon had noted for 
four long hours, he sent back to learn to be honest m their ques- 
tioning, and not to practice law again for seven years. During 
that time just verdicts were given; none were afraid to give cor- 
rect evidence, as they did not fear abuse. Thus endeth the 
fifth chronicle of Solomon. 



SIXTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

Complaints came to the king of those who manufactured 
chariots, utensils, and all the necessary articles for a house- 
hold, especially in articles of iron and tin and steel, and of those 
of the potter, and it was found by men of sagacity and wisdom 
that a duty had been laid by the oflBcials of the land upon the 
swords and wares of Damascus; on tools used by carpenters 
from Tyre, and even the cedar from Lebanon; upon the cordage 
for nets; upon parchment for writing; upon jewels of silver and 
gold; upon their lamps and candlesticks; nearly all were brought 
from Tyre or Petra, and the burden of paying two amounts to the 
few who fabricated articles of necessity, on account of the duty; 
which, but for (he duty, could come so much cheaper from Tyre, 
from Damascus, from Petra, and from Egypt. So Solomon had 
those who fabricated chariots and wains, pruners and swords, 
shears and bucklers, implements of husbandry and family uten- 
sils, brought from all parts of his kingdom, to state why they 
wished the duties to remain on what they fabricated, when 
their admission free would benefit so much the people of Israel. 
They pulled long faces, and said they could barely live, and 
that should the duties be taken off the country would be filled 
with everything at so low a price that they would be ruined. 
So Solomon sent them back to bring a record within one moon 
of all their manufactures, of their goods on hand, what means 



CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 19 

they had when they commenced to manufacture goods; what 
houses and lands; what gold and silver they had, and all they 
possessed. He found there were less than six hundred fabrica- 
tors of steel, of iron, of leather, and potteries, on a large scale; 
that there were over two million of Israelites who used these 
articles, and many were exchanged with Midianites, with Phil- 
istria, with Petra, Mesopotamia and Arabia. Solomon found 
that most of these rich fabricators had little to commence with ; 
that most of them were rich, many very rich; and Solomon had 
them divide amongst their workers all their surplus wealth over 
a tithe on their money in use, each year. The duties were 
taken off, and the country was soon full of all those things which 
were in use by the people, and the products of Israel were given 
in exchange, so that the tax on revenue soon filled the coffers of 
Solomon; the mass of the people were happy; general prosperity 
prevailed, and the country was full of gold and silver. Thus 
endeth the sixth chronicle of Solomon. 



SEVENTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

It came to the ears of the king that a great number of his 
people had become wine-bibbers, and that wine was sold in any 
quantity to suit the means of the purchaser; that much of it 
was adulterated; that the youths of Israel, like Noah of old, 
were often in a state of drunkenness, and did incest, sodomy, 
murder, rape, bearing false witness against their neighbors, 
perjury, theft, and that they dishonored their jjarents and wor- 
shiped strange gods; and the heart of Solomon was sad. So he 
rambled among the dealers and saw aged men, with one foot in 
the grave, gulping down the deleterious mixtures called wine, 
and men who labored hard for a trifling pittance spent most of 
their earnings in the vile trash vended unto them, while their 
children were barefooted and without sandals, or scarcely any 
vestments to cover their nakedness, and their profanity mingled 
with their ignorant boasts; and Solomon saw little children try 
to lead their drunken parents to their miserable abodes; and the 



20 CHKONICLES OF SOLOMON. 

king saw the sons of the grandees, rich owners and vendors of 
goods, all in a state of mawkishness and blaspheming Jehovah 
as often as they opened their mouths, and they were mixed up 
with the skum of Jerusalem; and it grieved the heart of Solo- 
mon sorely, for he could not see clearly how to remedy so great 
and so growing an evil. So he had every dealer in and vendor 
of wine brought to the great hall to explain their circumstan- 
ces from the time they first vended the drinks to that day, 
and he stripped them of their ill-gotten wealth and sent them 
to scrub the decks of his vessels for three years with no pay but 
their food. Then he had licenses for new vendors of wine at 
one hundred pieces of gold; all those who adulterated wine were 
to be imprisoned and forfeit all their stock and worldly goods, 
and to be sent as hewers of wood for three years in the forests 
of Lebanon; and every one, old and young, who drank and be- 
came drunk, their names should be placed in the lists of drunk- 
ards, and exposed on all the corners of the city, and be made 
servitors in his armiq^ for three years. Thus was pure wine 
only sold; vendors were few; and drunkards were reformed by 
becoming industrious. Thus endeth the seventh chronicle of 
Solomon. 



EIGHTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

And lo, and behold! there was wailing in the land on ac- 
count of the great usury extorted from the people; they giving 
their goods, their furniture, their jewels and their utensils for 
security for small amounts of money loaned them. And Solomon 
obtained a list from Copti of a hundred who had borne extor- 
tions year after year, until they were plunged in misery, so that 
many took their own lives, not being able to endure the anguish 
and misery they had; and they Avere brought into the great hall, 
aud their memorandums were displayed, and he saw that all 
their furniture, their goods, their chatties, their implements, 
their gold and their silver ornaments and precious stones, even 
their houses, were in the hands of the usurers; and Solomon had 



CHKONICLES OF SOLOMON. 21 

their wives and children and their dependents brought in, and 
their squalor and abjectness distressed the king, and he ordered 
them to be fed and placed on the right hand of the hall. And 
Solomon gathered together ever}' one who loaned, even every 
usurer in Jerusalem was brought in and placed on the left hand 
of the hall. Their garments were rich, their bellies were prom- 
inent, and their cheeks were rounded with fat; and Solomon 
ordered every one to show what he had when he became a 
usurer, and what he was worth that day; and Solomon found 
that the poor had become poorer, that the rich had become 
richer daily, and that some of the poor had paid many times 
over in usury what their goods were pledged for originally. 
And Solomon ordered the usurers to give back all the goods 
they held, and to every one all that each had charged over a 
half tithe for a year, and to come the next day to the hall, in 
their plainest garments; and the poor were comforted, and re- 
ceived their beds and their furniture, their implements and 
their ornaments; and all they had jjaid over half a tithe per 
annum as usury; and the next day the usurers and money-lend- 
ers appeared in plain apparel, and the king ordered them to be 
stripped and prison apparel, with stripes, put upon them, and 
to be branded with " usurer" on each man's brow, and to break 
stones on the streets of Jerusalem for three years, with a ball 
and chain uj^on their legs, as though they were the most de- 
based and guilty sinners in Jerusalem; and Solomon ordered a 
fund to be set apart to be loaned in small sums to the really 
necessitous, without usury; and Solomon made an edict that 
nothing in Jerusalem should be purchased on credit, but paid 
for at the time of the purchase, and that thereafter no debt 
should be collectible; that all houses and lands thus bought 
should be recorded, and after this no one could own any land 
or houses unless recorded as paid for in money; nor any one, 
either Israelite or Gentile, should be held as a slave from that 
day during the whole of his reign. Thus endeth the seventh 
chronicle of Solomon. 



::i2 CHKONIC'LES OF SOLOMON. 

EIGHTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

Complaints had been made to Coj^ti about the weights and 
measures throughout the whole of Jerusalem. 80 Solomon, 
dressed as a countryman, took a basket and went to eminent 
dealers, who, full of suavity, seemed the essence of innocence. 
Solomon had one weight and bought that amount, and when 
he doubted the justness of the weights of the dealers they be- 
came irritated and abusive; but Solomon fearing not weighed 
with his own weight, and insisted upon having the full quan- 
tity for the price they sold at. Most of them were light, and 
yet when they bought they had weights lieavier than the trae 
ones; so satisfying himself of the general dishonesty of the ven- 
dors, he had every one's name brought to him who vended m 
Jerusalem; then sent his guards and had every one brought be- 
fore him, and all their weights and measures, and having placed 
one of the just judges on the bench, Solomon, dressed as a coun- 
tryman, pointed out those who had tried to wrong him; but 
they still thinking liini a rustic, swore to the accuracy of their 
weights, and pleaded that an unknown countryman's word 
should not be taken before theirs who were old inhabitants, and 
whose reputation was unsullied. Then Solomon passed into 
another room and came out again appareled as the king, and 
the high dignitary gave up his seat to the king. Then tlie 
false dealers of whom Solomon had bought besought him to 
pardon their unseemly language, but he answered them not, 
aiid of six hundred dealers in Jerusalem only forty-two had 
■weights and measures correct. So the king made them give a 
written order to Copti for all their provisions to be brought to 
the great srpiare at the rear of his palace, and Solomon divided 
.all their ill-gotten gains amongst the poor of Jerusalem, accord- 
ing to the number dependent upon them. The forty-two just 
dealers were rewarded by Solomon. Upon the brow of the 
others he had branded ''false weight and measure." They were 
sent with their l^eards and heads shaved and prison clothing put 
-on to go on a cruise as laborers for three years without pay; and 
;Solomon cured their unjust ways during the wliole of his reign. 
'Thus endetli the eis:hth chronicle of Solomon. 



CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 33 

NINTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

Whereas it came to the ears of the king that the scribes aiul 
expounders of the hiw eat ui) the fat of the hind, and became 
rich, and they were as locusts in the hind; that they bred dis- 
sension and strife, and suborned false witnesses, and laid traps 
for the guileless and unwary, and endeavored to get gold from 
innocent men and women under threats of misstatements re- 
si^ecting their dealings, their faith, and their chastity; and peo- 
ple dreading their al)ilities to falsify and their forensic elo- 
quence, and their lack of truth, submitted to be plundered by 
these ravenous sharks, who would plead for a murderer, know- 
ing tliat he was a murderer; who would plead for a robber, 
kiu:)wing him to be a tliief; who would plead for men avIio j^er- 
jured themselves, who moved their neighbor's landmarks; for 
those they knew- were guilty of adultery; and would plead for those 
who broke every one of the commandments; and would endeavor 
by their skill in language and by their bland manners to impose 
upon the judges; many of whom by their simplicity were easily 
im])osed upon, and ofLimes unjust judgments were, given. So 
Solomon had the whole of the scribes and expounders of the law 
examined by judges who were old, upright and learned in the 
law. Solomon had them examined one by one. and most of 
them were set aside, as neither having capacity, judgment, or 
moral honesty; and Solomon adjudged them to be disrobed, and 
for seven years they should be menders of the public roads, and 
at the end of that period they should enter into some iion- 
est avocation, and never again enter that of a scribe or expounder 
of tlie law. Thus during the remainder of Solomon's reign 
justice in the simplest manner was administered, and if any 
Avere dissatisfied with the judgment, Solomon made an edict 
that live men, if a man; live women, if a woman, should hear 
and pronounce by three majority, and the judge should sentence 
or liberate from their verdict. Thus endeth the ninth chronicle 
of Solomon. 



24 ^ CHEONICLES OF SOLOMON. 

TENTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

Solomon felt glad in his heart. Jerusalem and Jiidea, from 
Dan to Beersheba, from Tadmor and the Red Sea unto the bor- 
ders of Tyre, were prosperous, and the people of Israel were 
comparatively happy, when Copti learned that there was great 
dissatisfaction with husbands and fathers and young men on 
account of the amorousness of the Levites for their wives and 
their daughters, and their betrothed ones were seduced in the 
dwellings appertaining to the synagogues, and the evil had be- 
come a crying one, and children were born to the rabbis by un- 
married women, and by the daughters of Israel; and as Solomon 
was a great debauchee, a whoremonger, and had a great number 
of concubines, from the grandest and from the petite, from the 
blue-eyed of the North and from the piercing black-eyed ones 
of the South; from Chaldea and from Mesopotamia; from Persia 
and from Egypt; from Petra and Arabia, and even from the 
Scythians and from the Greek Islands; many came to see the 
grandeur and magnificence of his palaces, which were builded 
with ivory from Abyssinia, with gold from Sheba; of gems from 
the eastern lands (where the geni dwelt), and amber from the 
seas beyond the pillars of Hercules. The beautiful wood- 
work, with its elaborate carvings, was from Sidon. The jewels 
he and his wives and his concubines wore were fashioned in 
Egypt, and the fine linen also. The fruits of all islands were 
brought him in vessels from Tyre; spices, myrrh and frankin- 
cense and spikenard from Arabia, and fruits from the isles of 
the sea; and in the Songs of Solomon is described the love of the 
black EgyjDtian for him. So Solomon brought every priest and 
rabbi and Levite to Jerusalem, and he commanded on pain of 
death, and it was proclaimed by Oopti, that every married 
woman, and every virgin who had been seduced and debauched 
by the priests, the rabbis and the Levites, should state the same 
in the great hall ; and seven hundred and eighty wives and vir- 
gins who had been debauched and seduced by these soft-tongued 
priests, under pretense of religious duty, out of pity, others be- 
cause the language of the rabbis had been 'amorous and lecher- 
ous, and in the outhouses of the synagogues, and even in the 



CHEONICLES OF SOLOMON. 25 

temples, when awe came over them, and opportunity offered, at 
the houses of tlieir husbands when away, and at the schools in 
after-hours where the young and innocent virgins were beguiled 
and their offspring were brought forth untimely and abortive, 
while others were strangled, and thrown from the rocks ; some 
were buried in the gardens in the rear of the houses of the 
priests, and the mass of the women and the maidens were pol- 
luted, as thousands had been before ; for the learning of the 
priests made them soft tongued, and as expounders of the Law 
and as teachers they had admission to the most private cham- 
bers of their victims ; and when persuasion availed not, they by 
noxious herbs would scatter the senses of their victims ; then 
they debauched the wives or the widows and destroyed the vir- 
ginity of the maidens. And Solomon assuming that although 
his palace was filled with harlots, yet as the king could do no 
wrong according to the idea of the time, he went on with his 
own seductions and debauchery, and he ordered the priests and 
the rabbis and the Levites who were guilty of seduction and 
violating virgins, to be made eunuchs, and for those who had be- 
trayed wives and widows, that for seven years they should sweep 
the streets of Jerusalem, and cart off the rubbish through the 
gates, and be branded on their brows with the word "'Lech- 
ery." Thus through the remainder of King Solomon's reign 
were maidens and widows and wives, as a general thing, free 
from pollution. Yet even with the stringent laws against them 
would many young priests brave the edicts and seduce virgins 
<ind debauch wives, although when found out they would be 
made to sweep the streets or be branded as others had been, for 
such is the force of amorousness, that for an hour of guilty 
pleasure they would have to endure years of misery. So Solo- 
mon had every wife or widow, and all who had not lost their vir- 
ginity with the priests but had been harlots unto them, to be 
branded with the word "harlot" on their foreheads; and as 
many could not bear the shame they took their own lives ; 
others could not live with their husbands, so they became har- 
lots in very deed, Solomon also made an edict that the priest 
should, after his term of degradation had passed, if alive and 
unmarried, marry one of the women he had seduced. 
Thus endeth the Tenth Chronicle of Solomon, 



26 CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 

THE ELEVENTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

And it came to the ears of Copti that great numbers of un- 
skilled men, under j^retense of being physicians, were actually 
killing off the people of Israel, and that they Were in collusion 
with those who sold noxious herbs, or salts or other professed 
articles, to cure ; and with witches who pretended to. know 
remedies for every ailment : and that they were also guilty of 
unburying the dead, and of cutting up the bodies of those 
buried, to gain a knowledge of the healing art. And tSolomon 
found out from Copti who were sick, and after the physicians 
had been called, he listened to their statements, and took notes 
of the same, and then called skilled physicians and had them 
investigate. And Solomon found that in many cases the young 
aspirants to the healing art were trying experiments, and others 
were doing what was detrimental ; and so Solomon commanded 
the youthful doctors to swallow their own medicines, and in 
many cases they became sick unto death. So Solomon gathered 
together all the practitioners of Jerusalem and the other large 
cities of Judea, and from the learned physicians he had certain 
questions propounded to them ; and the answers were written 
and sealed, with the name of each healer upon it, and those who 
had answered according to the then well-established rules of 
physic were allowed to practice, but the rest were branded with 
the word " quack " upon their brows, and were dismissed from 
the healing art forever. And it was found throughout the land 
that the average of human life, when the people were numbered 
in two decades, was longer, and the people more numerous than 
when being slaughtered by incompetent physicians. 

Thus endeth the Eleventh Chronicle of Solomon. 



THE TWELFTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

And it came to pass, as there was peace in Israel, and extor- 
tioners, and those who were dishonest in weight or measure, de- 
frauders in wine and usurers, debauchees of the scribes, and 
witless practitioners of the law and physic, were punished, that 
the people became rich, and men who had been abroad brought 



CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON". 27 

back the manners and habits of those amongst whom they had 
dvvelt, and they brought into Israel games of chance, and in 
time those who had become expert established themselves in all 
tlie cities of Israel, and with bits of wood that were numbered 
the expert who followed the business had six chances to the one 
chance of the untutored. Still they Avould wager and lose, then 
wager again. Poor men would lose the earnings of a week on a 
single throw ; and the hearts of the gamesters became hardened, 
and when they had won all a poor man's earnings, all a rich 
man's wealth, many would take their own lives so unhappy they 
were at being stripped of their gold, their silver, their gems, 
their furniture and their bedding, their houses and their lands, 
their vineyards, their cattle, and even the chastity of their 
wives, which they would chance on the number of sjiots on a bit 
of wood. And the gamester would chuckle and rake in all the 
gold, and silver, and gems into their bags underneath the tables, 
where the bits of wood were spun round ; then they would 
wager against deeds of houses and lands, and many who were 
once rich became poor, and some in revenge would slay the ex- 
pert, and many take away their own lives. So Solomon went as 
a laborer to a House of Chance, and when he had lost what a 
laborer would lose, he pleaded to the owner of the gambling 
place for as much as would buy him a loaf of bread and a few 
dates ; but the gambler told him if he had no more to wager to 
begone, for they had room only for players. Then Solomon 
changed his garments and went to the gambling places of the 
rich, and lost in jiroportion, and he pleaded for a portion as it 
was the birthday of his daughter and he had forgotten to put 
by enough to hnj a present for her ; but they heeded him not 
for their hearts were harder than adamant. And Solomon 
found the chances were many against the wagerer. Sometimes 
the gamblers would spin and Solomon saw that they used a dif- 
ferent piece from those the public wagered with ; and Solomon 
lifted one of their pieces and found the side they wagered on 
was weio-hted, and Solomon said thev were not honest. When 
the gamblers threatened Solomon, he blew a whistle and Copti 
came in with fifty guards, and Solomon said take these men and 
put them to death. And Copti detailed twenty men who took 



28 CHKONICLES OF SOLOMON. 

them to the house of penalty, and they were put to death. 
Copti crept near to Solomon, for he knew what desperate vil- 
lains the gamblers were ; and when Solomon had proved that 
not one gambler had one trait of goodness or honesty in him, 
he had them all brought to the great hall, and all their furni- 
ture and their gambling pieces, and all their gold and their sil- 
ver and gems, and deeds of houses and lands, and had all those 
who had wagered and lost brought in, and he gave back to every 
one what he had wagered and lost, and he had every man who 
had wagered given many stripes, and told them if they were 
caught gambling again he would set them to break stones upon 
the roads for a year. But every gambler Solomon had branded 
upon his brow with the word "gambler," and sent every one, 
with heavy chains about his legs, to break stones for ten years, 
with an edict that if they ever entered that occupation again 
they should be put to death. 

Thus endeth the Twelfth Chronicle of Solomon. 



THIRTEENTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

And lo and behold! as the good laws of Solomon added to 
the wealth and happiness of Israel, and they forgot their sim- 
plicity and branched out into all kinds of extravagance in food, 
in their furniture, their ornaments, and especially in dress, and 
although the men became somewhat fantastical, yet it was the 
extreme riches and fashion of tlie women that caused eventually 
so much misery ; for they would puff out their vestments be- 
hind until they looked awfully deformed, their bosoms were 
stuffed with floss, even their waists and their backs and should- 
ers ; and no man could tell the shajie of any woman until he 
married her and her superabundance was taken off ; their teeth 
were replaced by imitations, and they practiced before mirrors 
of polished brass to ojien their mouths wide in conversation, un- 
til they showed their false teeth incessantly. They also car- 
mined their faces to make them have a rosy hue, and the white 
dust from the Tin Islands ground to powder for their arms, 
their legs and their bosoms and faces, to make them look fair ; 



CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 29 

"but it gave them the appearance of harlots, and by tlie whore- 
mongers they were ofttimes mistaken for liarlots, and were in- 
sulted and abused and followed to the very doors of their hus- 
bands and father. They also had knobs placed in the centre of 
their shoe soles and they would tilt forward and often fall, in- 
stead of having the sole of their shoes flat like the human foot ; 
and many lost their health by painting, and their complexions 
were untimely injured by the use of cosmetics ; and instead of 
being thought prettier they were loathed by the male sex for 
their wickedness, and s^Doken of contemptuously for want of 
sense, and none were loved or respected with sincerity so much 
as those who dressed with neatness and wore vestments which 
displayed their natural shape ; those who were rich bought the 
most costly clothing that could be purchased in Tyre or Sidon, 
or in Egypt, and they bought the hair from dead females and 
dead animals and had it made into curls and masses, as near the 
color of their own hair as could be ; but it always looked dead 
and unnatural, and the exact shade could never be matched, so 
that every one who wore dead hair could be detected. Many 
caught loathsome diseases, even leprosy and itch, from wearing 
the hair of dead people. The tradesmen or vendors' wives aped 
the manners and dress of the very rich, and ruined their hus- 
bands by their extravagance. Many for dress and Jewels would 
barter their honor and break the hearts of their husbands, and 
many took their own lives, and some slew the seducers of their 
wives ; and many young maidens were enticed by dress, by gold, 
and by jewels to give up their virginity, and eventually, though 
well versed in the lore of the Israelites, and of the Egyptians, 
of Tyre, of Sidon, and of Damascus, and of the Cushites of 
Arabia, they would become harlots in early life, and die early of 
disease ; and their head gear they would raise higher and higher 
until it became a pinnacle. And the servitors and vendors' 
wives imitated the richest, and those from Egypt, Palmyra and 
Petra, and they had to bend their bodies to go under their door- 
ways. But vanity, vanity was the lot of woman from Eve until 
now ; and Solomon found with all his wisdom that it was an evil 
of such magnitude that he scarcely knew how to control it. 
Then he had all those who had the costliest garments brought 



30 CnRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 

to the great liall, and their husbands on the loft, and Solomon 
requested each one to state what his income was ; and all those ■ 
Avives who had vestments and jewels beyond a certain portion of 
it, he had them stripped of their vestments and jewels, and ar- 
rayed them in sackcloth for a year, on the back of which he had 
branded, ''Pride brought on this fall." 

Then he took a second grade, and all who had brought their 
husbands down, and some to poverty, he had wear sackcloth for 
a year and branded "folly and pride." The projections on gar- 
ments became less- and the feathers of the ostrich disappeared ; 
the carmine gave way to nature's color, and the dead hair was 
thrown to the dogs, and the Israelitish women became beautiful 
and shapely, and seductions were less, and the vendors and ar- 
chitects flourished, and husbands had jDcace at home. 

Thus endeth the Thirteenth Chronicle of Solomon. 



FOURTEENTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

In Jerusalem and the large cities where the pavements and 
roads and sewers had to be made, the officials who managed the 
affairs of a city or a town or a village, made contracts with road- 
makers, and builders, and sewer-builders, for lumber, for bricks, 
for stone, and for hollow tubes ; and they plundered the cities 
and towns by agreeing with the contractors for much more than 
the real cost; and they made hundreds of pieces of gold, and 
many pounds of silver, which they received as bribes for con- 
tracts. Then they made false entries to delude and rob those 
who paid their tithes to their robber rulers; and it had gone on 
from year to year, until they waxed bolder and bolder, until 
the city managers and head men and contractors stunk in the 
nostrils of ttie people. And Solomon had all the contractors 
of public works and all the city, town, and village fathers 
brought to the great. hall; and they had to produce their ac- 
counts for his whole reign. And Solomon found the jieople of 
Israel had been cheated and plundered until the contractors and 
officials had become exceedingly rich; then he ordered all their 
ill-gotten wealth to be given back to the people, and he had the 



CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON". 31 

contractors and officials beaten with many stripes and branded 
with the word ''swindlers," on their brows, and forced them to 
make and mend roads, make bridges and sewers, and to do all 
such work for the nation in their vicinity of a public nature, 
for seven years, at the price of labor and materials, the con- 
tractors and officials receiving only laborers' wages for that 
period, and every workman should be paid on Friday, or the 
sixth day, at sundown, and rest all day on Saturday or the sev- 
enth day. 

Thus endeth the Fourteenth Chronicle of Solomon. 



FIFTEENTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

On account of the growing wealth in Israel and the sur- 
rounding territory, under the dominion of Solomon, the people 
of every class in the land desired to travel to Tyre and Sidon, 
Palmyra, Damascus, Petra, and throughout Egypt ; and by 
means of relays of horses, and wains and chariots the people 
were passed from the Mediterranean to Mesojiotamia, from the 
limits of Tyre to Upper Egypt. And those who had wealth 
bought up the conveyances, the horses, the mules, the asses 
and camels, from Dan to Beersheba. Others had cross lines 
from the sea to the great roads leading to Nineveh and 
Babylon, and their gold accumulating, they bought up the com- 
munications one after another, until three or four rich men be- 
came owners of all the roads. Then they became so extremely 
opulent that they had power to influence almost all the officials 
throughout Israel. So King Solomon, wlio wondered at their 
immense fortunes, as they had build ed themselves palaces of 
marble, and had pillars of polished granite from Egypt, their 
chairs and their lounges and bedsteads were of carved ivory and 
inlaid with gold and silver and with costly pearl, their chairs 
of pure gold, so massive that they could not carry them with 
convenience, and the diamonds in their rings were extremely 
valuable; their other rings were set with rubies and opals, with 
sapphires, onyx, and with carbuncles, and their value was very 
great; their mirrors of polished brass reflected the beauty of 



32 CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 

their wives and their concubines and their costly furniture; their 
scrii^s were in frames of ivory and pearl and inlaid with gems ; 
their earrings were beautiful amethysts, their armlets were mas- 
sive gold set with jewels, and their anklets blazed with diamonds; 
even the soles of their shoes were inlaid at the sides with gold 
and gems; their drinking cups were of massive gold, and their 
trenchers and dishes of gold and silver, their knives of the steel 
of Damascus, and the handles were solid chased gold, the his- 
tory of Israel from the time of Laban and Lot to the taking 
possession of Canaan, was carved and raised in gold on the 
handles ; their shades from the sun were of silk from the rising 
sun land, and the handles of ivory and gold, with a large dia- 
mond in the end ; their fans were made in Etruria, where the 
setting sun casts its golden light over the tops of the fiery 
mountains ; and amber from the seas beyond the pillars of Her- 
cules was mserted in all their utensils ; choice plants from the 
east of Arabia, and aromatic plants from Arabia itself ; every 
one of their houses were palaces, and the aroma of sweet-scented 
herbs and lovely roses from Sharon and Damascus made their 
gardens miniature paradises. Yet they were not happy, but 
were grasping forever for more gold ; and they became haughty 
and insolent, and treated all men with scorn. So Solomon, in 
a plain vestment, called on the wealthiest, whose name was 
Ezekiel, and Solomon said he came for a catalogue of his houses, 
his lands, of his jewels, and of his gold and silver, of his furni- 
ture, and of all he 2:)0ssessed, for the king wished to obtain a 
knowledge of who was the richest man in his kingdom. But 
Ezekiel treated him rudely, and said, surely King Solomon, if 
he wished to communicate with him, would have sent a grandefi 
and not a simple vendor, as his appearance showed him to be. 
But Solomon insisted upon taking the catalogue with him, and 
was willing to wait until the sands of the hourglass had passed 
through twice; but Ezekiel was wroth and bade Solomon begone. 
So when Ezekiel had retired to his couch amid his rose spray 
fountains and his embroidered linen, on a bed of down, and the 
carvings of his furniture so delicate that it was termed wood 
work tracery, and was of rosewood, of ebony, of sandalwood, of 
the cedar of Lebanon, and of the knobs of the cherry tree; an 



CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 33 

alarm was sounded and his door was broken in by tlie soldiers 
of King Solomon, a dress was provided by Copti of the coarsest 
sackcloth, and all his books, his tallies, his parchments, his 
gold, and his silver, and his gems, were taken to the great hall; 
his wife and his children were allowed to inhabit a small, neat 
outhouse, with beds and furniture for comfort, but the servants 
and slaves and concubines were dismissed with a piece of gold 
each, and they went to other friends or relatives in Jerusalem ; 
and the king's seal was placed uj^on the palace of Ezekiel and he 
was taken to the great hall and kept there for judgment. And 
the other owners of roads who had millions in gold were also 
brought to the great hall in their own vestments, as they had 
not insulted the king ; but their palaces were sealed with the 
king's seal, and their slaves, and their servants and their concu-. 
bines were given each a piece of gold and liberated. Tlien Sol- 
omon, for his government, took possession of every road, and 
those who labored were paid the worth of their labor, and Sol- 
omon added to the carrying of persons the carriage of articles 
of trade and of messages from one city to another, and from 
friends to friends; so that any sealed message could be sent fiom 
Damascus to the Upper Nile, and from the sea to the Mesopo- 
tamia gate, for a small piece of silver. And Solomon had all 
the gold, and silver, and jewels, and furniture, and houses and 
lands belonging to these opulent men sold and their palaces also, 
and all over a sufficiency to start them in a small business as a 
vendor, except Ezekiel, was divided amongst those who liad done 
all the work for Ezekiel and the other rich road owners ; but 
Ezekiel had to work as cook in the scullery of the palace for 
seven years, and his earnings were delivered to his wife at the 
end of every moon. After awhile any who had shown good be- 
havior for a year, as vendors, except Ezekiel, were employed on 
the roads they used to own, by the king; and at the end of seven 
years, as Ezekiel had been industrious and prudent, Solomon 
forgave him, and he became a worker for the government also.. 

Thus were the great monopolies overthrown and the govern- 
ment of Solomon enriched, and the people Avere carried, and 
their missives and goods, for much less cost, and safer than be- 
fore. 

Thus endeth the Fifteenth Chronicle of Solomon. 



34 CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 

, SIXTEENTH CHRONICLE OF SOLOMON. 

And Solomon rejoiced greatly in the changes he had made 
in Israel, and he drove through Jerusalem with his queens, and 
his ebony .wife, and the people rejoiced in the great changes he 
had made in Israel, and the king passed to some great town and 
returned until he had made the circuit of his kingdom; and he 
would have been regaled in princely style, but Solomon sent 
Copti in advance and instructed those with whom Solomon 
would tarry not to spend their substance in producing rich food 
or buying adornments so as to use their silver or their gold un- 
necessarily, but in a neat and loving manner to entertain him 
and his household. And Solomon always left some present of 
more value than his entertainment ; but he found that the 
youths and the maidens were but illy instructed; so Solomon 
sent to Babylon, to Tyre, and Sidon, to Nineveh, Damascus, to 
,Petra and the great cities of Egypt, and to the seaports in 
Spain for manuscripts, and he had them copied by the priests 
and the Levites on parchment; and he also arranged it so that 
every child between ten and fourteen, should go to the halls of 
learning, and should not be employed in any of the workshops 
until that age. And in addition to the knowledge of Hebrew 
they should read the laws of Moses, and the history of Israel, 
the histories of Egypt, and of Syria, and Philistria, of Tyre, of 
Sidon, of Edom, of Petra, of Babylon, and Nineveh, and of the 
Cushites of Arabia, travels to distant lands, to Arabia and 
Europe, as far as the pillars of Hercules, also even to Persia and 
the Scythians of the North, and to the land of ivory and gold ; 
and they were instructed in seafaring, in the art of healing, the 
study of herbs, of animals, and the study of the law, so that 
they could read to the people; also, in the rudiments of art, in 
the cutting of wood and stone, in jiottery and in working of 
steel, and iron, and brass; in leather, and in tanning, and in 
working in gold and silver; so that when the Israelites traveled 
in after life among surrounding nations they might excel in his- 
tory, in a knowledge of Hebrew, in conversation; and the Songs 
of Solomon, and the Psalms of his father David were to be 
committed to memory, so that the Israelites might be considered 



CHRONICLES OF SOLOMON. 35 

wise wherever they traveled. And he ordered that none shouhT 
travel unless they had sufficient means, so that none of the 
Israelites should be looked upon as beggars. And the fame of 
King Solomon spread far and near, and all the young children 
and youth were well instructed. 

And Solomon had heard of far-off lands away to the East ; 
so he gathered together great philosophers and many learned 
men, and he had strong ships built by the Tyrians on the Red 
Sea, and he sent warlike men to guard the learned, and his 
ships were manned by the mariners of Tyre and Sidon, and 
much food and gold and silver was sent in his ships, and they 
arrived in a thickly inhabited country which had old temples 
cut in the rocks, for worship, of which no man could tell; and 
where precious stones were almost playthings for children. So 
the gold of Solomon purchased a mass of precious stones, that 
when they readied Israel, and Egypt, and Tyre, were increased 
in value a thousand fold. So Solomon determined to build 
habitations for tlie artisans of Jerusalem on little mounts and 
in valleys, and to each habitation he affixed a small piece of 
land as a garden. Then when the inhabitants were thinned out, 
Solomon had all the unsightly and worn out old habitations 
cleared away, and he l)uilt small habitations for the remaining 
poor, and he left ])atches of green around them, and he had the 
sweet smelling herbs of Arabia transplanted throughout Jeru- 
salem, Avhich was cleaned at certain periods, and the rocks from 
the White Islands* were burned and spread in all the thorough- 
fares of Jerusalem, so that the aroma from the sweet smelling 
herbs filled the city and was wafted for miles by the gentle 
breezes. And at certain distances the King had deep wells dug 
for the use of tlie people, and he had wains laden with clay 
from the interior aiul brought to Jerusalem and distributed to 
the poor to cleanse their linen and their persons and cure their 
eyelids from sores ; and Solomon sent throughout Israel to get 
an account of the cattle and their breeds, the sheep and their 
breeds, the horses and camels and asses and their breeds, and 
from the King's treasury the poor or inferior beasts were 
bought, and the sheep and the oxen were slaughtered and given 
to the poor for food, and the asses and horses and camels of in- 



36 CHEONICLES OF SOLOMON. 

ferior breeds^ they were taken out of the land and sold, 
and the money was given to the owners ; but Solomon passed 
an edict that none of the inferior breeds should be bred again 
in Israel, so that in a few years the camels, the asses and horses 
were all of superior breeds, and remained so during the reign of 
Solomon. 

Thus endeth the Sixteenth Chronicle of Solomon. 



POEMS, 



ENGLAND. 



Richmond, Va., 1U20 Main St., June 7, 1S83. 



There is no knowing; England's island home 
May her protect a thousand years to come. 
The sea that doth surround her is her shield ; 
Supremacy on it she ne'er must yield. 

As every day and every year doth pass, 
She is a mirror to mankind, a glass 
In which her noble sentiments are shown. 
Her ills are many, yet not overgrown. 

The nation hath a strong, a logic mind, 

A grand and quick perception. She is kind, 

For Britain, it is full of art and skill. 

Its rights for to defend hath power and will. 

The education of the youthful brain. 

Without distention or that fearful strain 

That schools more westward urge with rapid force, 

Till brains, distended, grow from bad to worse. 

Her people arc well fed, obey the laws ; 

Her peo])le are well clothed, and they have cause 

For great rejoicing; never on the earth 

Hath there been such an empire, such a girth 

From truth and honor and their sterling worth; 
For they are taught true i)rinciples from birth. 
The time will come when Enoland won't endure 
The law that wrongs her — primogeniture 

Will be cast from her. Debts then must be paid. 
The nobles be more strict how debts are made. 
The game laws gone, progressive statute books, 
Then workingmen with gun and line and hooks. 



POEMS. 39 

So that they do not trespass, will be free 
As ermined kings or the nobility. 
A pheasant or a partridge or a snipe, 
Will then be free from the baronial gripe. 

If true refinement comes from noble birth. 
Or from truth and honor, that social worth 
That Britain loves, her children must progress. 
And show mankind their sterling loveliness. 

She is not perfect ; nations never were; 
But all her offspring ever will revere, 
Whether in Canada or Hindostan, 
Or in Australia, every single man 

Whose father or whose grandfather did come 
From merry England — from that island home — 
Revere her still, and form in every land 
Sons of St. George, a firm, united band. 

How many heroes dotli her history show 
Cut off by tyrants with a murderous blow? 
Queen Boadicea, in her island home, 
Conquered the legions of imperial Rome. 

Caractacus, who for full twenty years 
Filled many a Roman matron's eyes with tears, 
Was filled with wonder at grand scenes in Rome, 
That Ca?sar envied him his cot at home. 

King Alfred's memory ever will remain. 
His noble laws, his life without a stain. 
His laws the pedestal, Moses wrote the dome. 
While Pandects famous from Justinian come. 

King Harold he was brave, yea, very brave ; 
And fought the Norman, who did soon enslave 
The Saxons and the Danes by cruel laws. 
From England's lion William drew the claws. 



40 POEMS. 

Yet Hareward brave and famous Kobin Hood 
Fought bravely on for fallen England's good, 
But did not much advance; at length her speed 
Accelerated at famous Runnymede. 

From this time on till (Iromwell ruled the land, 
Destroyed the nobles' castles with his band, 
And gave those principles the Pilgrims taught 
To Yankee land from dear old England brought. 

In later days, Cleve, Hethrington, Carlyle, 
Taught moral truths. The nation now can smile. 
Paine's Rights of Man, his book of common sense. 
His agrarian justice recompense 

For many yea,rs of sorrow. He set free 
The colonies from Britain. Liberty 
He taught mankind. Yea, in every page 
His sterling sentiments did advance the age. 

Now common schools, mechanics' institutes 
Which guide the young idea as it shoots ; 
And household suffrage vote for men who rule 
One-third of all die earth; therefore, no fool 

Can lead the House of Commons, talent must, 
Whether from plebeian ranks or upper crust; 
Another decade, every one can write 
Will vote in England, claim it as his right. 

Then will old England be a merry band, 
And with her offspring nations hand in hand, 
Feel free and happy in her island home. 
Waiting for the Millenium to come. 



POEMS. 41 

I AM READING SHAKSPEARE. 



Written. Walnut Street, Chattanooga, Tenn., March 12th, 1882. 



I am reading Shaksj^eare. He speaks of eyes, 
Describes their loveliness in language clear. 

He says the stars to him are glimmering toys 
Beside the lustre of eyes to him most dear. 

I am reading Shakspeare. He speaks of lips, 
No twanging bow hath such lovely arches, 

There's naught more happy than the bee who sips 
The honey from them as it daily parches. 

I am reading Shakspeare. He speaks of brows 
High and commanding as a tower of strength, 

A power of grandeur as it daily grows, 

Broad as the ocean, as mountain high in length. 

I am reading Shakspeare. He speaks of hair, 

Eed, rich and golden, or of flaxen hue; 
Of jetty hues with ravens' wings compare. 

In trailing masses, which are beauty's due. 

He writes of brain, of grand, stupendous brain. 

Of human folly and of idiot minds. 
Of thoughts which flow from tongues like showers of rain, 

Of love that is the strongest cord which binds. 

He writes of death, the silence of the grave. 

Of cowardice, deceit and rage in man. 
Of the great power of eloquence to save; 

Falseness in women who coquettish plan. 

He speaks with all the eloquence of grace 
Of beauties who unrivalled stood in fame. 

He makes a villain show a virtuous face, 

Who blackens deep with mire the fairest name. 



42 POEMS. 

He talks of base submission, kingly pride. 
Of fawning sycophants, of patriots brave, 

Of those who o'er mankind would roughshod ride, 
Of those would rather die than be a slave. 

He paints the daisy as the meekest flower. 
He paints the rose as emblem of true love. 

He elevates the lily with a dower 

Pure as the snowdrop, gentle as the dove. 

He gives to passion wild a power and strength 
Fierce as the tiger's in its raging wrath. 

Which like a fury spriugeth to its length, 

And maddened, foiled, its lips are fring'd with froth. 

He paints the bird of beauty, (Paradise), 

He breaks the heart with some sad, plaintive tale. 

Then jjortrays music in the charming voice 
Of that sweet thrilling bird, the nightingale. 

Even his errors in geography. 

His setting sail on water for Milan 
Are all forgotten in the melody 

Of this grand writer, world renowned man. 

There are a thousand errors in his tales. 
We these forget in reading language grand. 

The lovely words mellifluous he inhales 

Who hath his marvelous writings near at hand. 

He, like a spirit of the rosy morn. 

He, like a gleam of grandeur from the sun. 

He, like no other mortal ever born, 
Can in wild mirth or sadness ever run. 

We read the Bible and we seldom tire, 

Read Mirabeau and Toulman now and then, 

Read Shelley o'er and o'er with new desire. 
And read Lord Byron with his caustic pen. 



POEMS. 43 

We read the logic of tlie famous Watts, 

The tried philosophy of Bacon read, 
Read of astronomy and sunny spots 

Which fly off tangent brand new worlds to breed. 

Of Milton who in writnig was so grand, 
Of Pope and Addison and exquisite Steele, 

Of dark skinned Homer from the sunlit land. 
Where the great river Nile slips from the reel. 

Histories we read of England, France and Spain, 

Of Italy and Persia, Greece and Rome, 
Gribbon's Decline and Fall, his type dotli reign, 

Puts Allison and Napier at the dome. 

We read of Buddha and Confucius, 

The great Nahada, Zeus, and of Christ, 

Arab Mahomet, and we do discuss 

The different creeds the Priests do on us foist 

Of hell and heaven and the human soul, 

Of right and wrong and of free will in man; 

Read of the far off regions near the pole. 

They have no creed — dame Nature is their plan. 

They need no garments, climate's balmy, warm. 
They need no dwellings, sleep beneath the trees. 

Their freslmess always is a perfect charm. 

Sans clothing, they are fragrant with the breeze. 

They have no churches, buildings, fence or barn. 
The products of their country are for all; 

Of them and Central Africans we learn. 
Who happiest are on this terrestrial ball. 

We read the poets. Goethe, Schiller, Moore, 

Cowper, Alice Carey, Jean Ingelow, 
Their streams of poesy glide forevermore. 

In rivulets of gold and silver flow. 



44 POEMS. 

How many novels in our time we've read, 
Eienzi, Scottish Chiefs and Ivanhoe, 

Of Pompeii the City of the Dead, 

The great calamity, bright Italia's woe. 

We read of wars by Semiramis bold, 

Nebuchdanezzar of Assyria read. 
Of Jewish wars in Canaan we are told, 

Of Zenghis Khan which makes the heart to bleed. 

Of Tamerlane, of Bajazet the Turk, 
Both Asiatic in their language true. 

These wholesale murderers like to Hare and Burke, 
In Hades all will get their meed and due. 

The wars of C«sar and Hannibal we've read. 
Of great Napoleon that brave monster mind 

For whom a hundred different nations bled. 
To rule the race he would have made all blind. 

We have read the history of great Charlemagne, 
Of our own Alfred, also called the Great, 

Of the great conquering Bastard who did reign 
O'er conquered England. Sad was Harold's fate. 

We read of great inventors, Arkwright, Watt, 
Of the great telegrapher, famous Morse, 

Columbus, Gralileo not forgot. 

Of Cleopatra filled with sad remorse. 

Of Scythians and of Amazons we read, 
Of giants who did live in days of yore. 

Of those two mothers to Solomon did plead, 
The false one's heart was cold unto the core. 

We read of famed Zenobia, warlike queen, 
Who fought the Eomans bravely for a while 

Until their armies swiftly did careen. 
And took Zenobia in their snaring coil. 



POEMS. 45 

AVe read of authors in the days of yore, 

Moses, Isaiah, David, Solomon, 
Plato and Socrates, a hundred more. 

Who from this earth in ancient times were gone. 

But none were Shakspeare, he doth stand alone. 
Grand in blank verse and ocular in rhyme, 

Tragic or comic, yet a moral zone 

Will e'er surround him till the end of time. 



AN ANGEL'S VISIT. 



Richmmd, Va., March 29, 1883. 



An angel came here with his beautiful wings. 
He sat himself down on my feathery bed, 

And said unto me the most exquisite things, 

These were some of the Avords that the angel said: 

' I will take thee up to the heavenly throne 

And introduce thee to the angelic throng. 
Thy name to them, not entirely unknown, 
They love you as one of the Princes of Song." 

On ladders of glory we soared up on high, 
'Till the arch of a rainbow was far down below, 

And that which we see as a perfect blue sky 
Was transparent pure ether, whiter than snow. 

A gateway of diamonds came to our view, 

The hedge rows were emerald wire as a screen. 

To the liigh arch of heaven the angel he flew. 
And took me where never a mortal had been.. 



46 POEMS. 

Oh what an exi:)anse — most bewildering sight. 

There were hundreds of millions whose ])romenade 

Made gorgeous the glory with scintillas of light. 
While a myriad of golden harps were played. 

We came to the floor, such an exquisite floor. 

Where a carpet pure white was bordered with green^ 

Then he opened, a sapphire and emerald door, 
Thousands on thousands of dancers were seen. 

Cachucha, Mazurka, the Polka or Glide, 
Or the waltzes we have at dances on earth 

Are naught, for the angels with seraphic pride, 

Danced to harps that were golden of heavenly birth. 

I had a lovely partner with bright blue eyes 
And a perfect mass of rich golden hair, 

Her eyes they were purer than Italy's skies. 
Few on this earth with her beauty compare. 

And as we whirled round in the mazy dance, 
And I encircling her waist with my hand. 

My heart it beat quickly she did so entrance. 
My senses I could not longer command. 

To a seat we wandered, 'twas pearly white, 
And I still basked in the light of her eyes ; 

The earth I forgot in my spirit's new flight. 
So entrancing, so angelic the joys. 

Then I slept as I sat by the angel's side, 

And I dreamed that I had received a new birth,. 

When lo I awoke with pleasure and pride 
I found myself on this beautiful earth. 



POEMS. 47 



THE BEAUTIFUL SPRING. 



Written, 1U39 Main Street, Richmond, Va., May 3d, 1883. 



'Tis an exquisite thing for a poet to sing 

Of the caroling birds and the beautiful spring. 

Our praise is due to the poet to-day 

AVho can sweetly before his readers lay 

A description of flowers that come in spring; 

'Tis delicious to hear such a poet sing. 

He sings of the beautiful realms of light, 
Of the foliage green so pleasant to sight, 
And if he should sing of the glorious stars. 
Or of fairies who float in their aerial cars. 
Then it is a delightful, glorious thing, 
In glowing sweet language to hear him sing. 

When the poet doth sing of the human race 
With wonderful language and perfect grace, 
And showeth how grand and perfect the brain 
That proceeds from the tiniest germ or grain, 
'Tis then in language sublime he can sing 
That the mind of man o'er the world is king. 



48 POEMS. 



POVERTY. 



Written, Cleveland Infirmary, February 21st, 1882. 



Oh ! poverty thou art the sting destroys 

All source of tenderness, the very springs 

Of all affection; it grinds the human heart 

To the minutest atoms, and there leaves 

A sanded desert, as Sahara is ; 

In poverty the mother leaves her babe 

Upon the steps of some rich burgher's door, 

Hides the hard crust from her dear former love. 

All pity hid by the fierce gnawing pains 

That makes her wary for a mouldy crust. 

When poverty comes home, the cottage door 

Is closed against each neighbor. As a slave 

The strong man soon becomes. Obsequious 

And bending down unto the very dust. 

He begs for orts the tradesman throws his dog. 

If he doth labor they so cheapen it 

He cannot for his family provide. 

When sickness coming on for want of food, 

He's taken to the poor-house hospital. 



POEMS. 49 



THE BULLS AND THE BEARS' BLACK 

MONDAY. 



Written December 10th, 1S69. 



The Bulls and the Bears were struggling for gold, 
Eegardless of wrongs, for their hearts were cold. 
And although grim Death in his easy chair, 
Was beckoning for some who were gambling there, 
With his ghastly mouth and unsocheted eyes. 
While bony hands waved off the ^Jestering flies, 
Hearts swelled, and some broke in the terrible fight, 
Death smiled till he grinned, and thought it all right. 

The suicide gambled his millious away ; 
Children tenderly reared are beggars to-day. 
While those who had millions and gambled to swell 
Their wealth and their crimes, are favorites of Hell. 
And the Devil who dwells in that pleasant abode, 
Will give them their sulphur, load upon load, 
Will set Imjis who are hungry to gnaw at their hearts,. 
And canker worms thrust in the scattered parts. 
Until struggling with anguish, with pain untold. 
They shriek out dmmiation unto the gold. 

Note all the misery, the anguish, the care, 
These gamblers produced, and quickly prepare 
Statistics of all, and a balance sheet ; 
Then whene'er they are met, let the millions greet 
Them with a deafening, deep groan of scorn, 
Till writhing, they wish they had ne'er been born. 
As Death twirls his claws in their clammy hair, 
As they fix on him eyes Avith unearthly glare. 
Let then reams of greenbacks and bonds be rolled 
Up before their eyes as they clutch for gold. 



50 POEMS. 

Our administration should bring in a bill 

Would on gamblers act like a mercury pill. 

And make a just law all the nation would sign, 

A government note should be equal to coin.* 

All other banks should fork over and pay 

The rate of the current jorewn'?«H the day 

That the bill itself became law of the land, 

On all notes they had issued or had on hand. 

But if they redeemed hereafter in gold. 

As such let their future issue be sold. 

Then would Government stand in the world's esteem 

Very high, and their notes in gold redeem. 



TO THE LOVELY POET OF MACON. 



Written, Friday, January 23d, 1880. 



I send a friendly greeting and respect. 

Whether thy spirit unto heaven hath gone, 

On golden thrones to sit to take thy rest. 

As floating by the stars in milky way, 

Or still at Macon, this much will I say, 

You seem the glorious essence of a soul 

That would love to be wafted beyond this earth's control 

Violets have odor like the sweetest song, 
And lilies have a jmrity like thee. 
The passion flower, if that it had a tongue, 
Would sing thy praises ; the industrious bee 
Would gather golden honey from thy lips, 
Eegaling each on nectar as each sips ; 
And I a stranger who thy Deluge saw, 
A piece of lovely language without flaw, 



POEMS. 51 

Would love to know the author. Yet thy name 
To me is yet unknown. And I, 
Though longing to bask in the burning flame 
That glistens in and sparkles in thine eye, 
I trust again to see thy volume once, 
That I the rest may read ; though but a dunce, 
I trust my wit thy purity conceives ; 
Although thou art a flower, hid 'neath the choicest 
leaves. 

I heard a daisy talking to a rose, 
I fear it did forget its modesty. 

It said 'Hhou art so fragrant, how choice thy blows. 
How well thou art protected. What a joy 
Springs from the admiration you receive." 
The rose it answered, '' Daisy, do not grieve. 
Perhaps the maker of the flowers knew best, 
Therefore pray be contented, Daisy strive to rest.'' 

I heard a nightingale in evening's shade 
Say as it sat upon a lonely tree, 
■' Behold the peacock, 'tis gorgeously arrayed, 
How jjlain the colors nature gave to me." 
The peacock heard it as it sat at rest. 
And to the nightingale said, '^ He knows best 
Who gave to me fine colors for my tail. 
But made you queen of song, sweet lovely nightingale." 

1 wish I knew thee, if thou art on earth, 

Thy countenance is charming and thine eye 

Looks like a seraph's of pure heavenly birth. 

Just, like the glorious twinklers in the sky ; 

Jean Ingelow in language is so choice, 

Tliat as a poetess few can her excel ; 

Shelley so sensitive with poetic voice 

Doth sound delicious tocsins for mankind's reveille. 

You like the pink, camilia, pansies fair. 
Do ])urity and beauty so combine, 



52 POEMS. 

That like the parting of thy lovely hair, 

Sheweth thy brow commanding, where beauty is divine,"; 

There is a gentleness, a prayerful tone 

In all thy loving language, delicate ; 

The fervor of thy poesy is thy own, 

And thy forms of beauty thou doth thyself create. 

I am a prisoner, and the down-east sky 
Seems 'though 'twere falling, laden down with snow 
The blustering winds from Boreas do fly. 
In furious wild tornadoes they do blow ; 
The rivers are surcharged and o'er each field 
(Which in the summer glorious crops will yield). 
Show that it is stormy winter. Yet my mind 
To estimate thy beauteous language is inclined. 

Strong bars of iron are 'tween you and I, 

Yet there is a tiny opening in the cloud, 

A spec within the distance, I will try 

To place my discontent beneath a shroud. 

The time will surely come I shall be free. 

Then down to Georgia I will try to come, 

And seek to find a personal pronoun, Thee, 

And trust I shall be welcome to thy Southern home. 



POEMS. 53 

SULTAN OF BAGDAD'S DAUGHTER. 



Written at Ymingstown, Ohio, Decetnber 7, 18SS. 



About ten centiTvies ago, 
In old, golden, glorious Bagdad, 
Lived a sultan in such splendor. 
That Aladdin's fairy garden. 
With its trees with jewels laden. 
Was a poor caravansary 
Beside his gem and gold clad city. 
In which with his starlike daughter, 
Lived the Sultan of old Bagdad. 
You have seen black Italian eyes 
Twinkling like the star of morning, 
Or tlie brighter one of evening; 
Have seen all the merry twinkles 
That will chain your heart forever. 
Such eyes were the eyes of Lutee, 
The glorious vision that on earth, 
Somewhat east of old Judea, 
Was proclaimed the starlike daughter 
Of the Sultan of old Bagdad. 
And her lips were wreathed smiles 
The sweet lower one a cherry, 
While the dimples in her chin, 
In her cheek and near her elbows, 
Like the bloom of ripened peaches. 
And the palest pink of roses. 
Just a little brunette tinted. 
Showed a face of eastern beauty ; 
Smote the heart of each beholder 
With true love and wild amazement 
For the Sultan's lovely daughter. 
She was tall and very stately, 
A Venus and a trifle Juno, 
And her choice attitude was such. 



54 POEMS. 



Whether wtilking or reclining, 
Thcit she crazed her tens of thousands, 
As they all were driven insane 
Gazing on that glorious vision 
Of the daughter of the Sultan. 
Grlorious sunlight and the starlight, 
Grand Zenobia-looking Lutee, 
Daughter of th' most gorgeous Sultan 
Ever reigned in glorious Bagdad. 
In the rear of that grand palace 
(Oft reclined this beauty sleeping, 
Watched o'er by Syrian angels, 
With their golden wings extended, 
Fanning her with attar breezes). 
Was a most perfect paradise, 
A rich and cultivated garden. 
Where the luscious fruit was ripening. 
And the sweet aromatic shrubs. 
Brought away from old Arabia, 
Filled this choice garden with perfume. 
In an arbor covered over 
With passion flowers, lovely roses, 
With woodbines and honeysuckles, 
While bushes of sweet eglantine, 
Beds of sweetest mignonette, 
And the loveliest beds of pansies. 
Many colored choice verbenas. 
With tulips that were rich and rare. 
Pinks, sweetwilliams, pretty daisies, 
Cockscombs and deep purple violets, 
That their perfume saturated 
Every spot within the garden, 
In the rear of that grand palace, 
Where did dwell the starlike daughter 
Of the Sultan of old Bagdad. 
Once Lutee walked outside the city. 
Covered with a silken sunshade 
In the hand of a young maiden. 



POEMS. 55 

With two eumichs from the palace. 
On a stone near to a vilhige 
Just three miles from ancient Bagdad, 
Sat a man with ragged raiment, 
But of an especial grandeur. 
With a mien was quite majestic, 
Fine proportioned, thews of iron. 
Beautiful as Greek Adonis, 
A perfect match for Hercules. 
He had a manly, well-toned voice, 
With eyes of perfect polished jet, 
Ringlets black as wing of raven. 
Grander in this glorious figure 
Than the brave Grecian Diomede; 
His teeth a perfect row of pearls, 
And the music of his language, 
Like the harp tones of Apollo, 
Or the words which angels whisper. 
Were commanding, soft, or gentle. 
Or plaintive as a minor tone ; 
And his limbs in fine proportion. 
Like young Apollo Belvidere, 
Such as gods on Mount Olympus 
Might fairly worship and admire. 
Lutee, the daughter of the Sultan, 
Gazed upon his wondrous beauty, 
Then seated at a little distance, 
Did inquire with gentle words 
About his country and his lineage, 
Asked if he were a son of Jove. 
Then he knelt beside the maiden, 
Forgot about his ragged vestments, 
Told a younger treacherous cousin, 
Won by gold the strange alfection 
Of a warlike guilty people; 
How he fought for days and days, 
Until by twenty-four surrounded, 
They called upon him to surrender, . 



56 . POEMS, 

But with his axe and scimetar 

He cleft his way right throi^gh them all, 

Then mounted on an Arab charger^ 

Flew towards the Sultan's frontier, 

Hoping for better times to come. 

Was he hungry ? was he thirsty ? 

Yes. Omar, flee on wings of wind, 

Bring provisions, wine and water. 

So that we may regale the stranger; 

Othman, fly, and from the wardrobe 

Of my regal, royal father; 

Bring a splendid robt of purple. 

They soon returning, Cartha feasted, 

Washed in water, drank his wine, 

Tlirew his outer garment from him, 

Eobed himself in purple splendor ; 

Then upon his Arab war-horse, 

Follow'd by Lutee on a palfrey. 

Which another eunuch brought her. 

Then entered into glorious Bagdad; 

Sought the Sultan in his palace. 

And received especial favor, 

Cartha the grandest new apparel; 

Then he talked and told to Lutee 

The same melting, loving story. 

And she listened to his language 

As she'd listen to an angel 

Fresh from heaven's bright paradise. 

And her father told Prince Oartha 

That he would find him an army 

So he could return again 

And win the crown from the usurper. 

But the troops of Calione, 

Fearing lest their noble king 

Should reward their treacherous conduct 

With the bowstring or the axe. 

Fought with unexampled fury. 

Day by day, and each army 



POEMS. ^"^ 

That the traitor's brother led, 
Also that led by Calione, 
Seemed like gods, such was their valor. 
But the Sultan sent Abdala 
With another fifty thousand. 
And they went to winter quarters, 
For the cold in western Medea 
From the northern blasts set in. 
Midway between the troops and Bagdad, 
Came the grand majestic Cartha, 
Came the loving Bagdad princess, 
And the Sultan in his grandeur. 
They waited for the sunny spring. 
Cartha pleaded, pleaded daily. 
For her hand and to be wedded, 
And she listened to his loving, 
Loving language as he pleaded, 
For 'tis given to Persians only 
And those who use the Arab tongue 
To paint the lovely lily whiter. 

And gild gold refined in song, 

By the pathos of their language; 

But the Sultan old and wiser. 

Said you will lose naught by waiting, 

Bade Cartha move his troops on soon. 

He came upon Arphar, the traitor. 

And slew him with his scimetar, 

Then the army did surrender, 

And the lovely Sultan's daughter 

Did become the bride of Cartha. 

Cartha he was tender hearted. 

And forgave his rebel soldiers, 

He forgave them every one. 

So within a splendid palace 

Most magnificent with grandeur. 

Dwelt King Cartha and fair Lutee; 

And the Sultan was made happy, 

By the visits from his daughter. 



•58 POEMS, 



She would sing such plaintive songs, 
Just as once did Judah's daughters 
As they passed o'er the Euphrates, 
About the lovely running rivers, 
About the shepherds tending sheep; 
Sang about the twining roses, 
Of the pansies and the daisies. 
Sang of the lovely passion flower, 
Sang about the loves of angels, 
Of the passions of immortals; 
Sang of the virtues of a child. 
Of mignonette so aromatic. 
Of the grand Damascus roses, 
Of love within the human heart. 
Of lovely birds of paradise, 
Of nightingales, the queens of song. 
Then she would sing of human nature, 
Of its overflowing goodness. 
And sang about the coming time, 
When the earth would see millenium. 
She, her husband and her father. 
Were buried in a grand mausoleum 
In the citv of old Bagdad. 



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